


Strength

by tatsue akashiro (smol_demon_giyuu)



Series: Qualities [1]
Category: Assassination Classroom
Genre: Aftermath of Torture, Aftermath of Violence, Akabane Karma Angst, Akabane Karma Needs a Hug, Akabane Karma Whump, Akabane Karma-centric, Angst with a Happy Ending, Author Is Confused, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Blood and Injury, Character Death, Class 3-E as Family (Assassination Classroom), Electrocution, Fainting, Fluff, Gen, Guns, Hospitals, Hostage Situations, How Do I Tag, Hurt, Hurt Akabane Karma, Hurt/Comfort, I Tried, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Kidnapping, Major Character Injury, Mild Blood, Parental Karasuma Tadaomi, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Protective Class 3-E (Assassination Classroom), Protective Karasuma Tadaomi, Protective Korosensei (Assassination Classroom), Protectiveness, Soft Akabane Karma, Teacher-Student Relationship, Torture, Violence, Whump, does that mean a major character gets hurt or a lot of injury?, i think???, maybe?? hmm idk, not anyone likeable dont worry, pretty much
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-16 23:41:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28590447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smol_demon_giyuu/pseuds/tatsue%20akashiro
Summary: *PLEASE READ THE FIC THAT INSPIRED THIS FIRST, THANKS*basically, karma becomes a hostage.(i suck at summaries.)or: the author wanting to write a karma whumpfic but being a lazy person asked to write a continuation of another’s insteadInspired by: Vulnerability (by Rookblonkorules)
Series: Qualities [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2115222
Comments: 5
Kudos: 59





	Strength

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rookblonkorules](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rookblonkorules/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Vulnerabilty](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27500317) by [Rookblonkorules](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rookblonkorules/pseuds/Rookblonkorules). 



> this was inspired by and is a continuation of Vulnerability by Rookblonkorules! ^^ (pls read it before reading this....) i read it a while ago and loved it so i asked to be allowed to write a sort of sequel for it. they gave me permission so here it is...!
> 
> (not to mention there really are TOO LITTLE KARMA WHUMPFICS IN THIS WORLD HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE WITH THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD OF KARMA STANS AND WHUMP LOVERS I THOUGHT THERE WOULD BE MORE PEOPLE WRITING THIS STUFF- anyway bc of that i really wanted to write some of my own and fill in the gap)
> 
> it’s basically the same story, but with added scenes from before and after karma’s kidnapping. they’re in a few different people’s povs (sorta??) such as nagisa and karasuma but never karma. i just made up how it happened and what came in between. i switch povs every time there’s one of those bar things idk
> 
> ending is trash, i may rewrite it ;-;
> 
> tw: electrocution, torture, blood, injuries, fainting, hospital settings, mentions of medical procedures
> 
> edit: added some scenes into the story, including one that i accidentally missed out and another (hopefully) emotional caring karasuma scene (15/1/2021)
> 
> edit: fixed grammar, spacing and spelling. as well as tags. may add another missed out scene in the future (1/2/2021)

It was a normal day at the old Kunugigaoka Junior High campus. The E class was full of its usual chaos.

Itona was making a new drone, Terasaka and his gang looking on as he did. Kayano and Sugino were chatting with Nagisa. Okuda, Hayami, Kanzaki and the other girls were also chatting in groups. Ritsu was talking with Maehara, Nakamura and Isogai. Irina-sensei was seen attempting to seduce Karasuma-sensei. Overall, quite a normal day. It was just like any other.

It wasn’t till Korosensei took attendance that Class 3-E noticed something was wrong.

“Akabane Karma?”

Silence.

“Karma?”

Silence.

“Karma-kun?”

Still silence. The class turned as one to the seat where Karma sat.

But he wasn’t there.

The class immediately dissolved into soft murmurs and confused discussion.

“Where would Karma be?”

“It’s not like him to just not come to school like this……”

“Do you think he’s _sick_?”

“Maybe he got into a fight with the main building students and was suspended……”

“Or even with the Big Five!”

“Wouldn’t put it past Karma to pick a fight with them.”

“Maybe he just skipped school again?”

“Yeah, probably something like that…… Karma _is_ that type of person after all……”

The mood of the class lightened considerably, and most of them returned to their relaxed state. Only Nagisa still worried. He felt Karma wasn’t simply skipping school. It really wasn’t like him to just disappear like that. Even if he was planning on skipping classes that day, he would still come back in the mornings for roll call. Something just felt off.

Then, where was Karma?

  
  


* * *

  
  


Shiro smiled at the boy lying on a metal table in front of him. It sure was nice, seeing one of the former Reaper’s precious students had fallen so easily into his trap. The fact that he’d managed to catch _Akabane Karma_ of all people was an added bonus. One of the detested, annoying Class E’s best students, too.

“Do you know why I took you, Karma- _chan_?”

Karma only glared from his position lying down in front of Shiro. His golden eyes showed resentment, anger and (perhaps) a tiny hint of fear. His mouth moved slightly as if to speak but Shiro knew he couldn’t thanks to the drugs coursing through his system.

“I suppose you do.” Shiro said, without waiting for him to answer. “You’re a smart boy after all.” He moved to stand over Karma.

“While her betrayal was…... useful, there really wasn’t a chance that Kayano would successfully complete the assassination of your teacher.” 

Karma grimaced slightly at those words and Shiro grinned.

“It did, however, provide the distraction I was looking for though. You make an excellent piece of cheese in my mousetrap.”

Shiro put his hands on Karma’s shoulders and the boy visibly flinched, attempting to move away from the touch but was held fast by the anti-sensei bindings. Shiro considered tightening them, just to make Karma a bit more uncomfortable.

This was going to be fun.

  
  


* * *

Class E saw neither hide nor hair of Karma for the whole day. The class were fretting, talking among themselves and panicking. Korosensei was sweating profusely. Irina-sensei paced around restlessly, muttering to herself. Even Karasuma-sensei looked like he was starting to get worried.

“Ritsu?” Korosensei turned to the black machine sitting in a corner of the classroom.

“Yes, sensei?” Ritsu’s face appeared on the screen.

“You have downloaded copies of yourself onto the phones of all your classmates, right?”

“Yes.”

“Can you track Karma’s location on his phone?”

“Sure, sensei. I have records of all my classmates’ whereabouts.” her student uniform changed to a brown detective’s outfit. “Let’s see…… the last recorded location of Karma-kun’s phone was outside his home, in a small park. The time was yesterday.”

“Yesterday?” Irina-sensei came closer. “Aren’t there any recordings from today?”

“I’m sorry but there aren’t, sensei.” Ritsu replied sadly. A table of dates and times appeared next to her on the screen, with Karma’s name on the top. She pointed to the most recent one. Indeed, the time shown was the day before.

Karasuma spoke up. “If I can wrangle permission from my superiors, I might be able to get access to the CCTV tapes around the area and we can get an idea of where Karma is. But I might not succeed…...”

All the class turned to him with hopeful expressions. He sighed.

“All right, I’ll go.”

  
  


* * *

  
  
  


Shiro knew the experiment would arrive soon. There was only so long one could hide from a creature hunting at Mach 20, anyway. He gently tapped his finger on Karma’s shoulder.

“We shouldn’t have long to wait.”

He then stepped away from Karma, into the shadows.

“You may want to sit tight, Karma-chan. These next moments won’t be pleasant for you.”

  
  


* * *

  
  


“There!”

Kurahashi pointed to a corner of the screen. They all crowded around Karasuma’s small laptop and looked in the finger's direction. Karasuma paused the tape and they caught sight of Karma’s trademark red hair disappearing out of range.

Karasuma switched to a different camera tape. They watched the digital image of Karma stroll leisurely into the park, scrolling down his phone.

The bushes rustled and several men dressed all in black popped out of them. Karma didn’t see them. They sneaked up on him quietly and caught him by surprise. He struggled valiantly, kicking and punching but more came out from the shrubbery and surrounded him. Karma visibly got angrier and fiercer, he pulled out hidden knives and started to fight them head-on.

One burly man caught him in a headlock. Karma choked and pulled on the man’s arms in a futile attempt to free himself. Another approached from the side and pushed a needle into his neck, injecting whatever was inside. Slowly but surely, his struggles weakened and finally stopped. His hand slackened and the knives dropped to the ground. The men effortlessly picked him up, bound him and carried him away. One last man stopped to pluck Karma’s fallen phone from the ground. He smashed it to pieces, then followed the others out of view.

The class was silent while they tried to comprehend what had happened. Itona broke the tension, staring hard at the paused screen showing those black-clad men.

‘Those men look familiar……”

“You’re right,” Nakamura said, “they almost look like-”

“ _Shiro’s subordinates._ ” Kayano whispered.

  
  


* * *

  
  


“So this is it……”

Karasuma stood in front of Korosensei, Irina and the class. They all had similar expressions of distress.

“If Ritsu is right, Karma should be in here. The octopus will be heading in first and I‘ll follow behind. The rest of you stay outside to wait. If we don’t come out after half an hour, you’re given permission to come inside. Irina, watch over them.”

“Hey, why don’t I get to go?”

“Just do your job.”

She was left fuming and yelling while Korosensei zoomed in, Karasuma right on his tail.

The octopus whizzed ahead, a blur in the dark hallway. Karasuma fingered his gun, checking to see the cartridge was full. Once he was satisfied, he ran on.

He only hoped they would get there in time. Karma would have to fend for himself until then.

_Karma, please be alive._

_Hold on. We’re coming._

  
  


* * *

  
  


They didn’t really have to wait very long at all before the experiment himself arrived. He stood there in all his tentacled glory, still with his trademark grin although Shiro noted the monster had an aura of immense anger about him.

“I’m very sorry you had to be put in this position, Karma-kun.” he moved to undo Karma’s bindings. “I’ll have you out of here in-”

“Wait-” Karma started to say weakly, but Korosensei’s tentacles had already started melting, dripping bright yellow mucus all over the floor. Shiro internally snorted at how blatantly _stupid_ his target had become, even getting himself hurt trying to protect his students.

_It’s this very stupidity that’ll get him killed tonight._

However, the Reaper didn’t even falter as his tentacle regenerated once more.

“Oh, dear. Anti-sensei matter. This certainly complicates getting you out of here, Karma-kun.”

He didn’t get a chance to say anything else. 

Shiro discreetly pressed a hidden button. There was a tiny, faint sizzling noise, too quiet for the others to hear properly. Electricity coursed through the table and Karma immediately half lifted off it, arching his back and screaming. The sound high pitched, filled with terror and pain. It was music to Shiro’s ears, delighting him. He loved watching others being tortured like this, hearing their screams, begging, pleading then giving them a slow, painful death. Definitely his favourite type of execution.

“Karma!” the Reaper yelled, panicking in his haste to try and help his student even as the latter screamed, writhing on the metal table. He knew he couldn’t.

Shiro pressed the button again. The charge stopped and he watched with growing satisfaction at the sight of Karma struggling for breath, trembling and shaking. Tears streamed down his face as he attempted to pull himself together. This strong, clever, even arrogant student of the Reaper, now reduced to a shivering mess of tears, burns and blood. Shiro couldn’t _wait_ for his creation’s expression when the boy died right before his eyes. Then the face he would make when Shiro killed _him_.

  
  
  


* * *

  
  


Karasuma burst into the room, gun in hand. A high, loud sound blasted into his ears, making him cover them. He saw Shiro standing in a corner of the room, his hand on a button. The man’s attention wasn’t on Karasuma, instead he was watching something in the middle of the room.

A certain annoying, perverted, _very_ beaten-up looking yellow octopus sat on the floor, the boy they were looking for wrapped in his tight embrace. Some kind of sound attack was affecting them, which could be seen by how Korosensei’s body was steadily melting and how Karma gripped his teacher’s tunic tightly, squeezing his eyes shut in apparent pain.

Karasuma wasted no time. He shot Shiro in the head and ran to Korosensei. (As he went past, he saw the final traces of what must have been surprise ghost across Shiro’s face and internally smirked.) With no Shiro to control the attack, it stopped and Korosensei slid to the ground, Karma still clutched in his arms.

“Are you two alright?” Karasuma asked, dropping to his knees beside Korosensei and assessing Karma’s injuries. The octopus sighed.

“You were a little slow, Karasuma-san. I was worried”

Karasuma decided to brush aside the insult for now and focus on Karma. He was more important.

“Is he alright? Are _you_ alright? Let me take him. You’re a mess.”

Korosensei looked absolutely terrible. Yellow mucus dripped from many parts of his body, part of his head caved in. Most of his tentacles were already gone, only slowly melting stumps remaining in their place. He looked like he’d been trying to stand unprotected in the path of a hurricane. But he still smiled. Smiling to tell Karasuma that he was fine, and to reassure his rescued student.

Karma was no better, either. There were cuts all over his body, notable burns on his arms, blood streaking his face and clothes. He was twitching uncontrollably, his breathing harsh and ragged, when Karasuma put two fingers on his wrist he could feel an unusually rapid pulse. He easily recognised the symptoms as a result of electric shocks. Karma looked exhausted, wounds bleeding freely and very much in pain.

Karasuma wasn’t sure who had gotten off worse.

Korosensei silently handed Karma over and the boy caught sight of his teacher as Karasuma took him into his arms.

“K-koro-” Karma coughed weakly, blood dripping from his chin, voice rough and scratchy.

“I’ll be fine,” Korosensei answered cheerfully, waving a tentacle. Karasuma really wanted to give him a good kick for not caring enough about himself. _One day_ , his mind promised. But not now. Not when his student's life was in danger.

Karma grit his teeth as if wanting to object but he then started to spasm again, groaning in pain.

“You’d better get him out of here, Karasuma-san. I’m afraid I’m in no shape to move at Mach 20 right now. Even if I were, with him in this state, it would hardly be a good idea.”

“Right.” Karasuma hefted Karma up so he would be more comfortable. He felt a surge of panic when he saw Karma slump and his bleary gold eyes start to slide shut.

“Karma? Karma!”

There was no response from the boy, he was out cold. Korosensei looked down at him, face unusually grave.

“You should take him now, Karasuma-san. I’ll catch up to you later.”

“Got it.” Karasuma quickly gathered Karma up off the floor and ran.

  
  


* * *

  
  


Class E waited impatiently outside the building for Korosensei to appear. It had been a while since their teacher had gone in, followed by Karasuma-sensei some time later. Irina-sensei waited with them, clutching her gun.

"Do you think we'll have to go in?" Fuwa asked, fidgeting.

"Maybe." Sugaya shrugged.

"We might be wrong, and if we slip up even just a bit, Karma could be dead." Chiba muttered. "But we've got to trust in Korosensei and Karasuma-sensei."

They heard harried footsteps and barely had time to straighten up when Karasuma-sensei barrelled out, panting slightly. He was holding a limp figure in his arms. And they had suspiciously familiar red hair……

“Karma!”

Said boy was currently slumped unconscious in Karasuma-sensei’s grip, head lolling back to reveal blood streaking his face and staining his clothes, more dripping from his forehead.

Nagisa inhaled sharply. It wasn’t normal to see his friend like this. Karma was strong, even stronger than most of the class. He was skilled, and they knew it. They’d seen him be the first person to successfully injure Korosensei, his expertise with the blade, even fighting and winning against men much older, bigger and more experienced than he was. But it was different now, looking at Karma who was now being gently laid down on the ground by Karasuma-sensei. Nagisa also realised it wasn’t only Karma’s head that was bleeding.

Numerous cuts littered his arms and legs, each in varying states of length and depth. There were burns too, most severely on his arms where the skin had started to blister and would definitely leave a scar.

Beside him, Kayano suddenly gasped, pearly tears sliding down her face as she desperately tried to keep them at bay. 

“Kayano?’ Nagisa turned to her. “What’s wrong?”

She only kept crying, furiously wiping at the tears with the sleeve of her shirt, refusing to look at Nagisa or the unconscious red-haired boy on the ground.

“Somebody, call an ambulance!” Karasuma-sensei was busying himself with Karma’s injuries, cleaning and wrapping them up with the first aid supplies Isogai and Kataoka had brought.

“Already on it!” Irina-sensei had her phone to her ear already, talking rapidly and urgently into it.

Nagisa walked to Karasuma-sensei, kneeling beside him and helping to unroll some gauze while the teacher treated Karma. “Sensei, where’s Korosensei?”

Karasuma-sensei didn’t look up, concentrating on Karma’s wounds. “He’s inside. He got hurt protecting Karma from Shiro, he told me to come on ahead. He’ll probably be out in no time.”

“Shiro?!” Itona hissed, reacting angrily. Other classmates heard as well, making varying expressions of shock and anger.

“Yes, it was indeed Shiro.” another voice broke through, making Nagisa look back to the entrance of the building where Korosensei was making his way out. His clothes were ruffled and bore obvious signs of a scuffle but his physical body was unscathed, meaning he’d probably waited until he was healed before coming outside.

“It was another plan to kill me. It seems Shiro really refuses to give up.” Korosensei came over, patting his clothes down and straightening his tie. “He planned to use Karma-kun as bait to lure me here, and I have to say it almost worked.” he gave a humourless chuckle. “Electric shocks and some type of sound attack were used on Karma-kun, but after I freed him, I was able to prevent most of any further damage done to him.”

The class exploded with various exclamations of outrage. Nagisa smiled slightly seeing the genuine caring bond in Class E. They truly cared for each other, even becoming protective over classmates in trouble. Meanwhile, Karasuma-sensei continued tending to Karma and Kayano was still crying.

Sirens wailing in the distance interrupted them. They all turned as one, seeing the flashing red-and-blue lights first before the ambulance itself rounded a corner and came into view. Korosensei disappeared behind the building just before the ambulance doors opened and four paramedics jumped out. They made a beeline for Karma, swiftly bringing a stretcher and strapping him onto it. They were talking among themselves and to Karasuma-sensei as they brought Karma into the ambulance. Nagisa was close enough to hear them but all the medical jargon was lost to him. He really didn’t understand a thing. He then noticed Karasuma-sensei quickly walking over to him.

  
  


* * *

  
  


“Nagisa, I’m going with Karma to the hospital. Tell Irina she’s going to be taking you all back to school along with the octopus.”

Nagisa nodded, moving to go to the other teacher and inform her. Then he looked back at Karasuma, seeming to have a final question in mind.

“Sensei…… will Karma be okay?”

“He will.”

Karasuma turned away, following a paramedic into the ambulance. They guided him to a seat and he sat down. They moved quickly around Karma like bees in a hive, shouting to each other, hooking him up to a heart monitor and putting an oxygen mask over his face. Try as he might, Karasuma couldn’t shake the scene from earlier out of his mind. He wished they had been faster in their preparations. Then maybe Karma would not have suffered.

He had really gotten attached to these kids.

He wanted to help his student, but he could only sit there powerless, devoid of strength. Even if he tried to, he’d just get in the way of the professionals.

The only thing left was to _hope_.

So he gripped Karma’s hand, carefully running his own over the limp, slender fingers. Karma’s breathing was raspy, the oxygen mask fogging up every time his chest rose and fell. He looked so fragile, like he was going to shatter at any moment.

_Karma, I......_

_I’m sorry._

_I’m not a good enough teacher to you._

_I couldn’t help you._

_I let you get hurt to this degree._

_I’m so sorry we couldn’t have come earlier._

_But it’s going to be fine._

_You’re_ _going to be fine._

_Stay strong. Don’t let us down now._

  
  


* * *

  
  


Korosensei resumed his spot at the teacher’s desk, looking at his class. Irina-sensei stood in her usual corner. However, the students were quiet. A depressing aura had filled the room. Muramatsu wasn’t chattering. Yada looked down at her clenched fists. The only sound was that of Kayano sniffling softly at her seat while Nagisa handed her a tissue. Even Terasaka kept his mouth shut. Hazama looked even gloomier than normal.

“Korosensei, where is Karasuma-sensei?” Kurahashi asked.

“He’s with Karma in the hospital.” Irina-sensei answered, flipping her phone shut. “He just called me, he says he’ll be back in a few hours, by this evening at most depending on what happens.”

“Class, I know you all are definitely shaken up about Karma-kun’s predicament, so lessons are over for the day. Feel free to go home.” Korosensei told them. After what had happened, it had scarred them in more ways than one. At the very least, he wanted to make sure they had their much needed rest.

Not one chair scraped back.

No one moved.

“We’re staying.”

Korosensei saw Isogai stand up, face distraught. The class representative stared steadily back at him, as did his other classmates.

“We won’t leave until we know Karma is okay.”

  
  


* * *

  
  


Karasuma opened the door and stepped inside. He quietly closed it and made his way across the room, making sure to keep his footsteps light so as not to wake the sleeping patient.

Karma lay on the hospital bed, sound asleep. It had been a few days since he’d been rescued and then brought here to the hospital, and he still hadn’t woken up. The doctors had assured him it was normal, given the ordeal that he’d been through but Karasuma couldn’t help but feel slightly worried anyway.

He took a seat by the bed, crossing his legs. His chair creaked a bit but Karma didn’t stir, still in a deep slumber. A heart monitor let out soft, steady beeps, assuring Karasuma that he was alright. An IV bag hung on a pole next to him, a tube going from it into the crook of his left arm. Both his arms were heavily bandaged, as well as his head and on other places where he’d been cut.

Karasuma decided to make himself comfortable, considering he’d be here for a while. He pulled out a book he’d brought along and started reading it. If he was going to wait here for god knows how long, he might as well do something informative.

He thought back to when he’d had to face an extremely worried Class E at school after he’d gotten back from the hospital.

_“KARASUMA-SENSEI!!”_

_Karasuma jumped in surprise when he slid the classroom door open. The whole class was out of their seats, immediately surrounding him with faces showing a mixture of worry and anticipation._

_“Karasuma-sensei, is Karma okay?”_

_“Yeah, is he fine?”_

_“Will he live?”_

_“We need to know, he’s our classmate!”_

_He’d expected this. Karasuma sighed and sat down with the class crowding around him._

_“Yes, he is.”_

_They collectively breathed a sigh of relief at his words. Karasuma decided to keep talking._

_“Karma was treated as soon as he was brought to the hospital. His cuts and burns were easily taken care of, but there will probably be some kind of permanent scarring. However, his hearing was also damaged by Shiro’s sound attack which means he may not be able to hear very well for a while. The attack also did some internal damage to him. He had surgery to repair both his hearing and his internal organs which was completed successfully. Scarring aside, he’s expected to make a full recovery. In the meantime, he’s sleeping right now and we’re just waiting for him to wake up. After that, he will probably be discharged in a week or two after some further treatment.”_

_“Sensei, can we go see him?” Nagisa asked hopefully, coming up beside him._

_He’d also expected_ _this_ _, too. He was about to respond but was interrupted by Korosensei._

_“No, you may not.”_

_The teacher was standing at his desk, shaking his head. Nagisa, Kayano and a few others had expressions of anger. Korosensei wagged a tentacle disapprovingly at them._

_“Karma-kun was obviously injured badly in his kidnapping. He’s still healing right now and of course he needs to take plenty of rest. And I doubt he would appreciate your interrupting him while he does, fufufufu. I suggest you wait patiently till he’s discharged and comes back to school in order to see him and talk to him.”_

_He was met with an uproar of angry yelling about his not letting them see Karma and how bad a teacher he was because of that._

_The class eventually gave in after a long hour of negotiations, but not without Korosensei’s promising to let them shoot at least eight of his tentacles in another assassination attempt the next day._

It was overall rather peaceful in the hospital room, apart from minimal interruption in the shape of an occasional doctor or nurse coming in to check Karma’s vitals, run tests and whatnot. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been reading (or waiting), but he suddenly heard a slight groan. He looked out of the corner of his eye and noticed Karma’s hand twitch. The said boy suddenly opened his eyes. Seeing the IV attached to his arm, he reached for it.

“Don’t touch that.”

Karma stared up at him, looking slightly bemused and only just noticing him in the room. Karasuma put down the book, uncrossing his legs. He expected Karma was wondering why he was here.

“We figured it would be a good idea to have someone with you. Just in case.”

He looked down at the bandages on Karma’s arms. “You had some pretty bad burns. The nurses said there’ll probably be some scarring.”

“So?” Karma seemed to smirk, curling his hand into a tight fist. “I’ll just look even more badass.”

Karasuma really tried his very best not to smile.

He was sure he’d let a twitch slip, though. The boy on the bed looked at him knowingly, teasingly even. Karasuma cleared his throat in order to break the embarrassing silence.

“Korosensei couldn’t be here. For obvious reasons. But he was acting pretty worried about you.”

Karma half nodded to himself as if knowing this would happen. But he also looked uneasy, like he was worried about something. “What happened to…?” Karasuma supposed he meant Shiro.

“He’s dead.” he answered shortly.

“What?”

“I shot him.” he shrugged. “He was arrogant. He hadn’t expected anyone else to be accompanying Korosensei.”

“So……”

“You won’t have to worry about him again.” Karasuma fixed the boy with a calculating gaze.

Karma looked steadily back, then his gaze shifted to the doors, like he was almost expecting Class E to already be there at the door, pushing, shoving, clamouring to see him.

“Your classmates wanted to see you but Korosensei thought it best that your bedrest remain unhindered.”

“......thanks, I guess.” Karma mumbled. He twisted his fingers in the hospital sheets and stared at his knees. He looked uncomfortable, for some reason.

Karasuma sighed. “I’ll go inform the doctor you’re awake.”

_Days later_

“How are you feeling?’

“I guess I’ve been better.” Karma replied around a small piece of bread, chewing slowly.

Karasuma watched him eat, pouring a glass of water out for him. Karma had been healing up well, according to his doctor. He would be discharged in a few more days, maybe by the end of the week if everything went alright. Korosensei had wanted to come today, but due to his being a state secret, Karasuma had given him a firm no. The octopus finally made him promise he’d tell Karma about him.

“Korosensei was asking after you today. And the class wanted me to tell you they say hello.”

“Oh. Thanks.” Karma was about to reach for some water when his burn twinged with a burst of sudden pain. He crashed back onto the bed, groaning. Karasuma caught him, gently rubbing Karma’s bandaged arm and patting his back with a gentleness even he didn’t know he had.

“It’s fine, Karma. Don’t push yourself.”

Karma managed a smirk, mercury orbs shining with mischief.

“Since when did you get so soft, sensei?”

  
  


* * *

  
  


“Nurufufufu, I have a special announcement to make.”

Kayano leaned forward in her seat with the rest of her class, curiosity piquing.

“Karma-kun is now fully recovered and he will be coming back today. He should be here soon”

Joy showed on all of their faces. However, Kayano couldn’t stop the feelings of regret that washed over her once more.

She had caused this.

If she hadn’t decided to kill Korosensei all by herself that day, Shiro wouldn’t have also used her as a distraction to hide what he was really planning.

If she had simply ignored him, no one would have to get hurt.

Karma wouldn’t have gotten captured.

Or tortured and injured to that extent.

No one would have.

The sight of his unconscious, bloody form swam repeatedly in her mind. Kayano wanted to scream, what with the frustration and self-reproach quickly building up in her very soul. When she closed her eyes, all she could see was _him_. She couldn’t bear it.

It was _all her fault_.

“Karma-kun! You’re just in time!”

She didn’t know how long she’d been spacing out for, but hearing Korosensei’s cheerful voice, she knew he was _back_.

She watched him slide the door open, adjust his bag slightly, then walk in as if nothing had even happened.

As he went past her seat, she saw the sleeves of his black blazer were rolled up slightly to his elbows, showing the dark, reddish burn scars on his arms. Kayano felt another rush of shame.

She _had_ talked to Nagisa about it a while ago. She’d spilled her thoughts out to him, crying about how she had gotten her classmates hurt. He had consoled her, saying Karma would forgive her, that it wasn’t her fault and everything would be alright.

She noticed Karma was unusually silent the whole day, he hadn’t even tried to kill Korosensei once. He didn’t respond to questions or much else, exempting his name.

At the end of the day, Nagisa approached her. “Kayano, why don’t you talk to Karma?”

“Wh-what? Why?”

“You feel guilty for ‘causing this’, right?” Nagisa shrugged. “You should talk to Karma and apologise, I’m sure he’ll forgive you and you’ll feel better”

“R-right……” She looked to where Karma sat in his seat, sliding his books away into his bag. Nagisa seemed to understand and smiled.

“Don’t worry, I’ll back you up.”

Together, they walked to Karma. She knew he had noticed them, but he didn’t make any kind of reaction to them standing there. He only closed his eyes and flopped onto his desk a bit. After a while, he sighed and came over, putting a bored expression on his face.

“Karma-”

She looked around for something to stare at other than him, gaze accidentally landing on his arm. His scars seemed to glare out at her, taunting her and she felt ashamed once more.

“I’m sorry.”

She nervously brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, trying to relieve the feelings brewing in her gut. She couldn’t even look him in the eye.

“I realize now that I was just the distraction for what he was planning, I had no idea…”

“It was his fault,” Karma shrugged apathetically, “not yours.”

“Everyone was worried about you,” Nagisa added. 

“A wasted effort.” Karma attempted to smile wolfishly like he always did, only barely managing to do it. “As you can see, I’m fine.”

“Karma-kun!” Korosensei called, interrupting their conversation. “A moment, please!” Karma looked over at the teacher, hesitating.

“I know you must want to spend time with your friends, but I won’t keep you long.”

As Karma strolled to the teacher’s desk, Nagisa gently pulled her out the door. “Let’s go outside, Kayano”

She looked at him in confusion. Nagisa closed the door behind them. “Korosensei probably wants to have a private talk with Karma, let’s not intrude.”

Kayano nodded, leaning against the wall. She could see into the classroom. Korosensei was folding his tentacles across the desk, apparently talking to Karma who turned away, closing his hands into fists.

As she and Nagisa watched, Karma interrupted whatever Korosensei was saying. He swallowed, looking uncomfortable. He spoke some more and Korosensei nodded. Then Karma opened his mouth to say something then was stopped. Korosensei put a tentacle on each of his shoulders and talked some more. They exchanged a few more words that way, until Karma appeared to panic. He sobbed quietly, eyes sliding shut. Korosensei pulled him into a hug and let him cry, patting the top of his head with a careful tentacle.

Nagisa tapped her shoulder, making her jump. She’d only just remembered he was here. “Come on, let’s go home. We should leave them……” he held out his hand to her.

Kayano took it, agreeing. Now she knew Karma didn’t blame her. He really didn’t. She could stop hating herself now.

She also wanted to help Karma. She knew he was hurting, in more ways than one. He chose not to show it, faking his true feelings behind a mischievous façade. Even someone like Karma had his inner demons.

But he didn’t have to face them alone.

He didn’t have to hide from them anymore.

He had his classmates.

And they were definitely more than willing to help him. He only had to ask.

**Author's Note:**

> fav part: hurting karma >:>
> 
> ugh the last part really is trash, kill me already  
> i’ll rewrite it if i have the time hhhhhhh  
> just assume i got tired near the end >:/
> 
> i did some research on the symptoms of electrocution, do correct me if i’m wrong...
> 
> i named this strength bc the original is called vulnerability and i wanted to make the title sort of the opposite. and when i searched antonyms, the only one that came up was ‘invulnerability’ and that just sounds dumb :| may or may not change the title
> 
> anyway i did not mention the word strength in my fic, unlike vulnerability where the title word was mentioned once. but i did write some parts where ‘strength’ is stressed upon (?) to fit into the whole theme idk how to put it i-
> 
> does the hospitalisation time sound unrealistic? idk, i never really thought about it?
> 
> more that 5k words, longest oneshot ever haha. i got a bit carried away so i accidentally added some (okay a lot) cuts to his list of injuries. and the internal damage but i expect those sonic attacks will do that to a person? am i right or wrong???  
> aaaaa i’m sorry but i love whumping my fav boys *evil laugh*
> 
> anyway hope you like it, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated :)))  
> do leave a review on your way out...!
> 
> *karma purposefully rolled up his sleeves in order to ‘look even more badass’, but it just made kayano feel even more guilty ;)
> 
>   
> welp, i’ve said too much XD  
> tatsue out! :D


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